Livestock • Inducted 1979 Cowboys called him Old Spec, not with affection but with respect for the curiously spotted, cross-bred Brahma bull that in 350 attempts, over a seven-year bucking career, allowed only seven riders to make qualifying rides. It was a ratio of 50 to 1, in favor of the...
Livestock • Inducted 1979 The Canadian horse, Midnight, began his rodeo career by bucking off his owner, Jim McNab, after a car backfired. McNab then sold the black horse to stock contractor Peter Welch and Strawberry Red Wall, producers for Canadian rodeos in the 1920s. After acquiring, Midnight, they increased their...
Livestock • Inducted 1979 Described by world champion saddle bronc rider Gene Pruett “as the greatest bucking horse in history,” Hell’s Angel usually left the chute with a high wrenching kick that gained impetus from striking the back of the chute. The 1,300-pound Percheron Pinto cross began his career with Montana...
Livestock • Inducted 1979 Five Minutes to Midnight began life with the name Tumbling Mustard. Although he was smaller, his twists and plunges led to his often being confused with the renowned bronc of the day, Midnight. When people asked, “Is that the horse Midnight?,” the usual answer was, “Darn close...
Livestock • Inducted 1979 Come Apart, the sorrel nemesis of bareback bronc riders during the 1950s and 1960s, came out of rangeland south of Red Lodge, along the Wyoming-Montana border. He was first purchased by the late Leo J. Cremer, Montana rodeo stock contractor. Unlike most bucking stock, Come Apart had...
Livestock • Inducted 1979 Bullet, sired by noted Quarter Horse Jack McCue, may have begun his rodeo career as a tie-down roping mount in the 1930s, but he achieved his fame as a steer roping horse. Roy and Pat Lewis sold the 1,000-pound sorrel gelding to veteran roper Bob Crosby. In...
Livestock • Inducted 1979 Rodeo’s most talked-about tie-down roping horse of the 1940s was a streak-faced, badly scarred sorrel named Baldy. He was directly responsible for four world championships. Clyde Burk of Comanche, Okla., won the world tie-down roping title astride Baldy in 1942 and 1944. After a fatal accident in...
Livestock • Inducted 1979 From 1953-60, Baby Doll earned more than $400,000 for her owner, the late, Willard Combs of Checotah, Okla. She carried Combs’ younger brother, the late Benny Combs, to the world steer wrestling title in 1955. In 1957 she took Willard Combs to the world championship. Sired by...
Stock Contractor • Inducted 1982 Stock contractor James Sutton produced his first rodeo in 1926 at the family ranch in Agar, S.D., and continued his involvement in professional rodeo until his death Feb. 1, 1991. Born Dec. 5, 1899, in Sully County, S.D., he earned the rodeo world’s respect for his...
Steer Roping • Inducted 1979 Although he achieved great fame as a tie-down roper, Olin Young won two world titles in steer roping. A superb all-around athlete, Young approached everything he did with the skill and technique of a craftsman, even when he was building corrals. Most of Young’s competitors believe...
